Sometimes I like to wait until things (or at least a season) is finished before I watch it. Binge watching has almost become it’s own genre with Amazon and Netflix releasing their original programming as a complete series rather than spreading it out. Orange is the New Black and House of Cards from Netflix continue to thrive on this model. This year, Amazon finally found a hit with Transparent. But there’s lots of things that are good taken as a whole rather than in their separate parts.

Binge Watching is part of our culture now and in my opinion, has changed the way we think about our TV consumption. Very few shows have that ‘must watch week to week’ appeal which means everything else is up for grabs.

Here’s what I’ve been binging on recently –

The League – I watched the first five seasons back to back and although it wasn’t my usual cup of tea it really hit me in the funny bone for some reason. When season 6 rolled around I had a much harder time finding the show funny though.

The Good Wife – Again, first five seasons in rapid succession with every intention of watching week to week when season 6 started in the fall. But they’re halfway through the season and the episodes are piling up in my queue. I don’t know if I’m not in the mood or if the show has lost it’s spark for me. I think I may just want to do it in a marathon session rather than hobble along.

Orphan Black – Holy crap. I think I started this show about halfway through season 1 and was on the edge of my seat. So when season 2 started I tried to hold off. And I’m glad I did because I whipped through ten episodes in about 2 days. I’m not anxious and nervous for season 3 because I want to know all of the answers now! I’m hoping I can wait for at least a couple of episodes before digging in again.

Parks and Recreation – It took me a while to get on board with this. I found Leslie Knope to be too perky to deal with at first, but after watching a couple of gag reels (gag reels are good indicator for me to whether or not I should watch something) I decided to give it another shot. It only takes a couple of episodes to see Knope’s dark side at which point I liked her a lot more. Then I burned through six seasons. Knope is an example of hard work and perseverance winning out over gender politics and personality issues. She is an inspiration and I love Amy Poehler all the more for developing someone who is ridiculous enough to anchor a sitcom but still relatable to a lot of people.